Tonight’s (Sept. 19) event is being held in solidarity with the Women’s March vigil at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

ST. PETERSBURG – A vigil is scheduled tonight to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died Friday (Sept. 18, 2020) of complications of metastatic pancreas cancer.

Justice Ginsburg was 87 years old. She died at her home in Washington, DC, surrounded by her family.

Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and served more than 27 years.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Ginsburg: “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, NY, on March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure.

She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the U.S.Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980.

During her more than 40 years as a Judge and a Justice, she was served by 159 law clerks.

While on the Court, the Justice authored My Own Words (2016), a compilation of her speeches and writings.

She is survived by her two children: Jane Carol Ginsburg (George Spera) and James Steven Ginsburg (Patrice Michaels), four grandchildren: Paul Spera (Francesca Toich), Clara Spera (Rory Boyd), Miranda Ginsburg, Abigail Ginsburg, two step-grandchildren: Harjinder Bedi, Satinder Bedi, and one great-grandchild: Lucrezia Spera. Her husband, Martin David Ginsburg, died in 2010.

A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.

A candlelight vigil in Justic Ginsburg’s memory is scheduled at 8 tonight in front of the St. Petersburg Judicial Building, 545 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg vigil is in solidarity with a Women’s March-sponsored vigil scheduled in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The St. Petersburg event is sponsored by Planned Parenthood Generation Action, USFSP Chapter.

“We owe Ruth Bader Ginsburg an enormous debt of gratitude,” said Rebecca Nero, USFSP student and lead organizer. “We must fight hard to uphold the ideals of equality and justice that she dedicated her life to.”

Facemasks and social distancing are mandatory. Community members are urged to bring candles and some to share (with hand protectors). For information about the St. Petersburg vigil, go to facebook.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Vigil | Deaths | Tampabay News | News Tampa

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